Bringing Korea Home

My daughter spent part of her winter pouring over information on becoming a foreign exchange student. Bubble-Girl loves to travel but she has a deficient immune system which makes her school attendance impossible. She decided if she couldn’t be an exchange student that our family should host one, a request I ignored…like when she says mom can I have a Husky.

One of the factors that swayed my decision was the fact that Bubble-Girl has to attend high school online, so she’s removed from the everyday high school stuff. Having another high school student around might give her a window into the everyday high school scene while bringing a brand new culture into our home. If we couldn’t send Bubble-Girl to an Asian culture, maybe we could bring the Asian culture to Bubble-Girl…I was softening on the idea.

What sealed the deal was Da-Young, a 15 year old Korean girl who said in her letter that she loves to read, talk, shop and preferred to be placed in a home with pets. Her letter was candid, light hearted and what the heck we have a number of pets to make her feel at home. She seemed a very good fit for our family and she is eager to leave Korea to see the Mall of America.

 Da-Young has called frequently and our families have exchanged emails and photos. She has decided that she wants to be called Rossana during her stay in America and will attend Royalton high school in the fall.  We expect her to arrive mid August and hope to take a short trip out to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands before school starts.

In the meantime, I have downloaded Korean to my MP3 player so I can communicate with her parents, I have also purchased Korean cookbooks and I will begin learning to cook some traditional Korean dishes. I admit that I was pleased to see that many seasonings used in Korean cooking are available anywhere but I think I’ll shy away from raw fish dishes.

This will surely be an adventure!

 

Seeds of Change

I wasn’t really looking for a career change, but when a really great opportunity presents itself you have to jump on…tuck your feet and arms in and roll with it.

I took a job about 6 weeks ago which is why A Novel Spot has been so neglected. It wasn’t planned but I loved the job description then I loved the board of directors, the rest is history.

I worried that taking a job would inhibit my ability to continue writing The Eyes to See Grace. Fiction writing is so very different from any other writing that I just didn’t know if I would be able to do both. About a week ago I added yet another chapter to my book and proved to myself that I still could shift into fiction mode. I’m convinced at this juncture that my book is a universe and entity all its own and it exists independent of me, I just have to tap into it and write what I see.

On the flip side, I have less time to dedicate to writing but as my life begins settling into a new routine I am finding pockets of time to spend doing what I love the most.

In addition to adding a job I have also planted a garden. The main character of my book is a seed saver so this year I purchased rare heirloom seeds, tilled the back yard, purchased a greenhouse and created micro samples of Grace’s universe. Gardening is dirtier than expected, Grace doesn’t mind as much as I do. Nonetheless I have 30 crowns of organic asparagus, organic German butterball potatoes, Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Sugar Snap Peas, Monkey Ass Tomatoes, Vadalia Onions, Arrow Green Peas, White Cucumbers, Organic Roma Tomatoes, Brandywine Tomatoes, Rosemary, Thyme, Italian Basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Christmas Lima Beans, Cranberry Runner beans, Organic Yellow, Orange and white Peppers, Claytonia, Eva’s Burgundy Lettuce, Kale, Strawberry Spinach…and many others. My non-organic indulgence was to plant hundreds of Peaches and Cream Sweet Corn plants…a favorite of my family.

Suffice it to say I have been reading and studying in order to write Grace’s life, but I’ve also planted Grace’s garden, an activity my 26 year old son has helped with. He says gardening has a Zen sort of quality that he finds peaceful and relaxing. Some of the plants will be used for food, others will go to seed so we can add to the seed bank and plant again next year.

The frequency of my posts will certainly be effected, but gradually I am finding time. There are many things I like and that I am good at but fiction writing makes me feel larger than life. It’s like throwing open the window of your soul to a spring day and taking a deep breath.

Twilight – The Movie Trailer

My daughter plowed through Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series at least a thousand time, I downloaded the audiobook version of Twilight and I loved it…even if I felt silly admitting it. We are awaiting book 4 Breaking Dawn in August and Twilight the movie due for release in December.

For anyone else who is shamelessly waiting, here is the trailer to Twilight the movie!

4 Meme

My good friend Ms. Woo Woo has tagged me for a list of 4.

4 Jobs I’ve Had: Executive Director, Administrator, T.V. Producer, Lobbyist

4 Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once: Pride and Prejudice, Silence of the Lambs, Almost Famous, Office Space

4 Places I’ve Lived: Coon Rapids, North East Minneapolis, Blaine, Little Falls

4 T.V. Show I’ve Watched: America’s Next Top Model, What Not To Wear, Trading Spaces, Bret Michael’s Rock of Love.

4 Places I’ve Been: London, England, Tampa, Florida, New York, New York, Reno, Nevada

4 Places I’d Like to Visit: Ireland, Italy, Spain, China

4 People Who Email Me Regularly: Ms. Woo Woo, Karen, Dee, Mary S.

4 of My Favorite Foods: Alaskan king crab, tri tip steak, roasted potatoes, asparagus

4 Things I’m Looking Forward to This Year: Earning more money, replacing my sofa, using the patio at our new house, taking a vacation.

4 People I’m tagging: I don’t know 4 people with a blog….

Prom 2008

I snapped this right before Lexx’s prom date arrived…

Below is a peace offering to my daughter who hates the prom picture…boys were sooo much easier.

 

 Lexx and nephew Vinni…at Grandma’s house